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Covid scrutiny

20 October 2021
Issue: 7953 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Constitutional law
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Ministers ‘have grown accustomed to the ease with which laws can be made… and seem reluctant to relinquish law-making functions back to Parliament’ now the initial stages of the pandemic have passed, the Bingham Centre has warned

In a report published last week, ’18 months of COVID-19 legislation in England: a rule of law analysis’, the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law found the government was still failing to give MPs impact assessments so they could properly scrutinise measures.

Moreover, the government had not been sufficiently transparent about how scientific advice fed into policy-making; continued to portray its public health advice as having the force of law, causing confusion among both public and police; and used delegated legislation for measures that substantially affected people’s everyday lives including criminalising ordinary behaviour.

MPs were due to vote this week on whether to renew the temporary provisions in the Coronavirus Act 2020 for a further six months.

Issue: 7953 / Categories: Legal News , Covid-19 , Constitutional law
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
Pension sharing orders (PSOs) have quietly reached their 25th anniversary, yet remain stubbornly underused. Writing in NLJ this week, Joanna Newton of Stowe Family Law argues that this neglect risks long-term financial harm, particularly for women
A school ski trip, a confiscated phone and an unauthorised hotel-room entry culminated in a pupil’s permanent exclusion. In this week's issue of NLJ, Nicholas Dobson charts how the Court of Appeal upheld the decision despite acknowledged procedural flaws
Is a suspect’s state of mind a ‘fact’ capable of triggering adverse inferences? Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Smith of Corker Binning examines how R v Leslie reshapes the debate
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
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